Buhari has never run a successful business - Atiku

The Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation has lashed out at the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its presidential candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari, over attacks launched against the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar.

Atiku, a former vice president, was elected the PDP's candidate at the party's national convention in Port Harcourt on Sunday, October 7, 2018, beating Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, to the ticket.

In the wake of his emergence, the APC and the Buhari Campaign Organisation have publicly described Atiku as an opponent with questionable wealth and track record in governance.

Atiku's campaign organisation has now fired back at the jibes, touting the former vice president as a job creator who would boost Nigeria's economy if elected president.

In a statement signed by the organisation on Tuesday, October 9, it listed Atiku's track record to include superintending over the GSM revolution that saw Nigeria go from 50,000 to 100 million GSM lines, adding over 500,000 direct jobs to the Nigerian economy, and attracting $27 billion to the nation's gross domestic product (GDP).

He's also credited with initiating, starting and completing several road projects all over Nigeria including roads in Katsina, President Buhari's home state.

Unlike Buhari, the statement stated, Atiku is an expert job creator who has founded many successful and thriving businesses.

The statement read, "We wish to remind APC's National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, that Atiku Abubakar is not like President Buhari who has never run a successful private business throughout his life.

"Unlike Muhammadu Buhari, Atiku Abubakar is an expert job creator who has founded many successful and thriving businesses including the American University of Nigeria, Yola, a Microfinance Bank that has moved 45,000 families out of poverty and Rica Gado, a livestock feed company that has significantly reduced instances of herdsmen/farmers clashes by providing a business-friendly solution instead of asking Nigerians to give up their lands for cattle ranching or face death, as the Buhari government did.

"Unlike President Buhari, Atiku Abubakar does not believe Nigerian youths are lazy. How could, when 25,000 out of his 50,000 employees are youths?

"Nigerians should note that we have just listed only a few of the many booming commercial enterprises founded by Atiku Abubakar.

"Now we urge the Buhari Presidency and the APC to mention even one successful private endeavour that the President has successfully run. And by private enterprises, we are not referring to 150 cows that never increase in number, year in year out."

The organisation further challenged President Buhari and the APC to mention three projects initiated, started and completed by the current administration in the last three years.

The organisation concluded that no other candidate is as motivated as Atiku to make the country work for everyone.

The 2019 presidential election is expected to be keenly-contested between Atiku and Buhari, a man he lost the APC's presidential ticket to in 2015 before he dumped the party in 2017 to return to the PDP.